Hogwarts, Matchmaker
by 2NiCe4U
Summary: It seems that the school Hermione knew so well and loved has turned tables on her and decided that she needs a little romance. The biggest problem is, Hogwarts thinks Professor Snape is her ideal match!
1. Trick Step

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. I just manipulate them…

Trick Step

Hermione was stuck.

It was dark, and something always happens to you when you venture through Hogwarts at night. Things such as close calls with teachers, a confrontation with Peeves, or even…an encounter with the trick step on the staircase between the second and third floors.

After almost seven years of avoiding what could be a very embarrassing situation, Hermione Granger, Head Girl and resident know-it-all, forgot to skip the trick step.

Unfortunately, the trick step is tricky enough that it takes two people to escape it, and Hermione, being the only one on this venture, was, well, in a load of crap.

As she had missed dinner, due to an unhealthy amount of studying, she had decided that a quick trip to the kitchens wouldn't go amiss. Borrowing Harry's cloak and turning down offers of accompaniment (which she greatly regretted now), Hermione had made her way down, only to be stopped by the Decidedly Evil and Nefarious Trick Step of the Devil, as she now called it.

After the initial jerk that made her fall back on her bum in a very undignified manner, Hermione had laughed at herself. Surely, anyone would find it funny that the most intelligent witch of their age was hindered by a mere step. The step had proven its tenacity, as, no matter how she tried, it held a firm grip, from ankle to toes. The harder she pulled on it, the tighter it held, and she knew what her fate would be. She would either stay there until a teacher found her, or stay until the morning, when a student would happen upon her.

She didn't know what would be worse. With a teacher, she would be punished, have points taken off and such. If a student came upon her though, the news of her embarrassment would be spread around the whole student body by the end of breakfast.

It seemed like fate had decided the worst possible outcome for her. There was no mistaking the measured steps coming her way. Standing up, she looked to the top of the stairs and saw the most horrid teacher in school about to descend them. Gauging which side of the staircase he was tramping down, Hermione leaned as much of herself over to the left of the stair, never mind that her foot was stuck smack dab in the middle. Her heart-rate and breathing accelerated as he drifted closer, and she closed her eyes in horror as she felt one of his boots connect with her leg, which was sticking out of the nasty little trick step in a weird angle.

She was only glad that the step was the second to last one on the staircase, as Professor Severus Snape was able to catch himself with his hands before his face was able to come in contact with the stone floor. As he fell, a yelp was pulled from him, along with Harry's invisibility cloak which had caught on his boot. It managed to drift off into an obscure corner, much to Hermione's relief. Harry would kill her if Professor Snape got a hold of it.

Speak of the devil, the professor had recovered enough to stand, and was now brushing himself off. He slowly turned around to face her, and she noticed his eyes widen minutely, but other than that, no evidence of surprise showed on his face. Hermione was impressed.

"Ooops," Was all she could say.

"Very elaborate, Miss Granger. What, may I ask, are you doing?" He said, in a tone that meant he would be very displeased if he wasn't answered honestly in the next second.

In a moment of brash Gryffindor stupidity, Hermione said, "I would think that much is obvious, professor." This did not improve the potions professor's horrid mood, from what she could tell. With only the moonlight from a nearby window, half of his face was in shadow, giving him a sharper countenance that sent danger signals through Hermione's brain.

"That will be twenty-five points for walking around after hours while not on patrol, and ten for your cheek." He said in a decidedly condescending tone, raising his eyebrow as if daring her to talk back. Knowing it would not do her any good, she looked off to one of the stone walls, where a portrait of a snobby-looking woman pretended to snooze in her chair.

"Yes, professor." She said, and after a few seconds, looked back to see why he wasn't already helping her out of the trick step. He just stood there, haughtily looking down at his nails. Sighing under her breath in annoyance, she put on a fake smile. "Would you mind helping me out of this?"

At this, Professor Snape looked up and sneered before walking to her side. He grabbed her arm rather brashly with both hands and yanked her hard enough that she skittered a few feet from the bottom step after she was freed. The professor stalked off towards the staircase leading from the second to the first floor, and Hermione gave a sigh of relief, glad that she wouldn't be getting a detention. That would definitely be an embarrassment for the Head Girl. She saw professor Snape pause again with trepidation. "By the way, Miss Granger, detention tomorrow at eight." With a snap of his robes, he was descending the staircase.

Hermione grumbled as she made her way over to the corner the invisibility cloak floated. She picked it up and shook the dust off, before placing it around herself again. She looked back the way she came, making sure to glare at the trick step, which looked as perfectly innocent and normal as the others. Well, she might as well go to the kitchens anyway, seeing as she was already more than halfway there. She'd just have to be a bit more careful, of both the castle and the teachers prowling about it.

Hermione quietly made her way towards the stairs leading to the first floor, descending them cautiously, even though there were no trick steps or jinxes to dodge. Just as she stepped off the last step, she was roughly grabbed by the arm and not to gently pushed against the wall by a furious Severus Snape. "Why, Miss Granger, are you not going to your room?" He said in a dangerous voice, reaching out and clumsily slipping the hood off of her cloak. If looking at a floating head was unnerving, he sure didn't show it.

"I'm sorry professor. I was just heading down to the kitchens, as I had missed dinner. It's quite awful trying to go to sleep when you're hungry." She replied, once she regained her composure. Professor Snape sure knew how to make people jump out of their skin!

"Yes, I'm sure." He said in a flat voice. "I suppose, as you have made it this far, you can go to the kitchens, but be quick about it, and don't let me catch you sneaking out again. Another detention will be added to your punishment for disobedience, now get going before I decide to punish you more." All Hermione could do was gape at him, but when he raised his eyebrow, she knew he meant business, and turned in the direction of the kitchens.

"Yes, sir. Thank you." She replied, not seeing the puzzled look that crossed his face before he turned to continue his rounds.

Hermione could not believe that she was let off the hook so easily. Sure, her punishment was thirty-five points and two detentions, but she never thought he would let her continue her little jaunt to the kitchens! Maybe he was going soft. Yeah, right. She tickled the pear and entered the vast kitchen, almost unprepared for the legion of little house elves that almost swallowed her as she stepped through the portrait. They all looked up at her eagerly, if a bit warily as well, waiting for her orders. She knew her antics with S.P.E.W. had something to do with it, but shrugged off the reminder of her failed attempt at justice. She supposed they looked happy enough, at least at Hogwarts.

The house elves eagerly complied with her wishes, and she was soon walking back towards her Head Girl rooms, glad that she didn't have to listen to any girly gossip. It was only around eleven-thirty, and surely they'd still be up. She entered her quiet rooms and looked around in satisfaction, from her impressive collection of books to the photographs, muggle and wizarding, of her friends and family. Then, walking towards her queen-sized bed, she got down to the business of sleeping.

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Well? What do you think so far? Please review if you wish! It would definitely encourage me to write more! Hahaha.


	2. Supply Closet pt 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of this story, I just manipulate them!

Supply Closet

According to Severus Snape's watch, which was always set correctly to the exact milli-second (Thanks to magic, and not because Snape is neurotic about perfection. I mean, seriously. If he was, his hair wouldn't look so greasy most of the time, eh?), Miss Hermione Granger arrived precisely at eight o'clock, which was just fine for both, as he did not have to suffer an unnecessary second in her presence, and she would not have any points taken off for tardiness. Wow, that was a long sentence.

Anyways, After her knock, and his grumpy voice beckoning her inside (It's not like he wanted to waste time supervising a detention.), he informed her that she was to make a batch of the Pepper-up potion for Madam Pomfrey's medicinal stores. Although it was a piece of cake for Miss Hermione Smarty-Pants Granger to complete this task, the Pepper-up potion was known to be a very temperamental potion, and needed constant attention once started. After setting up her cauldron and setting it to the right temperature (Snape subtly made sure to check.), Miss Granger headed towards the supply closet and pulled it open. Well, she tried to, anyways. After a few unsuccessful yanks at the door knob, she silently admitted defeat and walked over to Professor Snape's desk, where he expertly acted as though he was deeply involved in grading, er, first year essays.

After standing in front of the desk for about ten seconds, a certain know-it-all cleared her throat. "Ahem."

She watched as, first an eyebrow, and then dark eyes rose to look at her. Shifting nervously at the clearly irritated look on his mug, she spoke up. "Professor, the supply closet appears to be locked, or otherwise stuck, as it will not open." She watched as his eyes closed and then slowly opened, the annoyance clearly showing (As if he was really so involved in first years essays.). Miss Granger nearly snorted, but held back the sound with a concentrated effort. She watched as her Potions Professor slowly rose from his chair, giving her a long-suffering look before heading towards the supply closet. She trailed behind, watching as he took out a ring of keys and used a battered-looking key to open it. At first, it wouldn't turn in the lock easily enough, and Miss Granger thought the key would break with her professor's rough handling, but a few seconds more struggle left the supply closet door opened and the key still intact, and she sighed in relief. Professor Snape left her to her own devices, heading back over to the ever-waiting stack of first year essays, more reluctantly than he showed. Miss Granger proceeded to raid his closet for ingredients (With his permission this time, of course.).

Five minutes and three essays covered in as much red ink as black later, Snape heard an unwelcome noise. "Ahem." Indignant at the interruption (He was really getting into the torturous commentary he was writing on this particular essay. He was particularly proud of the part he wrote telling the unfortunate victim to stop letting his owl do his homework, as it obviously didn't have enough brains nor legible enough writing to get a passing grade for him.), Professor Snape snapped his head up quick enough that Miss Granger thought she got a whip-lash.

"What do you want, Granger?" He gritted out in a very dangerous voice. His eyebrow was in danger of disappearing under his hair line, which wasn't really that difficult, as it was long anyways, but still, it wasn't a good sign.

"Erm, it appears that you've run out of Jarvey hair, Professor." Miss Granger said, as meekly as possible. Her words were still enough to anger the short tempered man.

"What?! I thought I just restocked on those last week! Clearly your observation skills have deteriorated over the years, Miss Granger." He said waspishly as he stalked towards the supply closet. He waited by the door and gestured for her to go first, which would have looked gentlemanly, if he hadn't had a mocking look plastered on his face. She obligingly walked into the closet without fuss, and he turned and followed her in. This, of course, made her a bit nervous, as the closet wasn't too big, though admittedly quite a bit larger than a broom closet (Don't ask how Miss Granger would know the size of a broom closet. Please.).

Professor Snape folded his arms. "Well?" He said expectantly, "Where did you look to find them?"

Miss Granger led him to the appropriate side of the closet, exactly where he had last seen the Jarvey hair. There appeared to be an empty spot, between the Kantorous Horn powder and the Jesse Tree leaves, right where the hairs were supposed to be. Snape frowned wondering where they could be, and then it dawned on him that he had pulled the jar out to use some of the hairs in one of his potions in his private laboratory. Of course, he would never admit this slip-up to Smarty-Pants Granger, as that would be admitting to defeat. He was a proud man, after all. Thinking this, he just raised his eyebrow and turned back to look down his prominent nose at the aforementioned Head Girl. "Did you look anywhere else?" He sneered, thinking that, if he could distract her, he might be able to sneak the bottle in somewhere while she was preoccupied.

Miss Granger looked indignant, which he had to smirk at. "Of course I did, Professor." She replied, sniffing as though she couldn't believe he was accusing her of being anything but thorough.

"Well, look around _again_, until you find it." He told her, inwardly congratulating himself on how condescending he had just sounded. He turned to leave the supply closet, only to have his nose severely conked. Stepping back in surprised alarm, he rubbed his proboscis as he stared at the closed door of the supply closet. He reached down to turn the handle, so that he might escape the humiliation of facing Miss Granger with a red nose, only to find that there was no handle to turn. "Blast!" He exclaimed at his misfortune, feeling around in his pockets for his wand, and then realizing that he had left it on his desk. His left eye twitched as he realized what this meant. He would have to ask the Insufferable know-it-all for assistance. No, he would not say help. He wasn't that desperate. Well, ok, maybe he was, but that would be his last resort. "Miss Granger," He said, turning to speak to her once he felt the red coloring had left his nose. "Please tell me you have your wand." He stated, not wanting to get his hopes up. Even as he said the words, her face showed that she did not, indeed, have her wand with her.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I thought it was against the rules for a student to bring their wand to detention." She was, of course, right, as always, but it still frustrated him to no end.

"Well, Miss Granger, it seems that I am doomed to suffer in your presence for far longer than I ever wished to." He stated blandly and, in Miss Granger's opinion, unnecessarily. Sighing in resignation, Professor Severus Snape leaned against the source of all his problems (The closet door, not Miss Granger, though that would have been quite a sight!) and slid down to the floor, keeping his knees tucked close to his body so as to leave room for the resident Head Girl. Miss Granger was surprised, as, never in all her life had she seen the Potions Professor in such an undignified position. Deciding that she should do something better than gaping unattractively like a cod, she took a seat on the stone floor of the supply closet, crossing her legs Indian style. Hopefully someone would be by soon to let them out.


	3. Supply Closet pt 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the plot. Too bad…

A/N: Sorry! This one's a bit short! I hope you like it anyways! I love reviews, by the way!

Supply Closet pt. 2

Hermione Granger, possibly the unluckiest girl at Hogwarts this moment in time, sighed for the eighth time, according to Professor Snape's calculations. "Miss Granger, I don't think expelling air every other minute in that manner will help us get out of here. Please refrain from your usual annoying habits."

Rolling her eyes, Hermione studied the jars on various shelves in the supply closet they were both inconveniently stuck in. She had already searched the shelves two more times for the Jarvey hair, even if she would have no use for it until they escaped their uncomfortable situation. She hadn't found it yet, which bothered her, but it was less taxing, now that she knew she wouldn't have to have detention tonight. Actually, she thought that staying in a small closet with the most hated professor in Hogwarts seemed very much like a detention. She had the urge to sigh again, but refrained from doing so, for both their sakes.

After another five minutes had passed, Hermione was a bit bored of doing nothing other than breathing. Surely Professor Snape would be annoyed, no matter what she did or didn't do, seeing as they were stuck in a closet together. She felt she had nothing to lose, well, unless he expelled her, or tried to poison her with any of the ingredients. That was hardly likely though, as he would have a tough time hiding the evidence. Mentally shrugging her shoulders, she stood up and looked around once again. Noticing that the minced Baby's Breath was in the wrong place, she put it in its proper place, where the bulky jar of dried Flobber worms was currently located. Jar in hand, she turned to the other side of the closet and found the large gap they belonged in.

"Miss Granger," Professor Snape drawled from his place on the floor beside her. "What, exactly, are you doing?" In her mind's eye, Hermione could just see his eyebrow raised and a sardonic look on his face. The nose would add just a touch of arrogance to the look. She almost laughed at the thought that her Potions Professor could be a very proficient actor in the Muggle world.

"I'm organizing the supply closet. If you don't mind my being frank, I'm awfully bored, and, as you don't look as though you'd appreciate a stirring debate in current potions dealings at the moment, I decided to make myself useful. This way, you can enjoy your peace and quiet, and won't have your conscience bothering you tonight, when we escape this unfortunate event, that I didn't actually do anything in detention."

Though Severus Snape saw this as a fair statement, he decided to entertain himself anyway. "And what makes you think I won't give you another detention for getting us into this mess in the first place?"

Hermione had the guts to grin unabashedly right in his face. "You can hardly blame this incident on me, sir. I had no control of the fact that an ingredient was missing from your supply closet, and, as I recall, you were closest to the door when it closed in on us. In light of the situation, others might say it was you who…deserved the detention." Oh, she knew she was going to get in deep for that comment, but couldn't hold back from saying it. It was times like these when she didn't doubt that she was sorted in the right house.

That insolent little chit! There was no way she was going to get away with that comment, and by the look in her face, she knew it! Inwardly cursing the whole Gryffindor lot that ever ran around in Hogwarts, he opened his mouth to reply, the acid ready to roll off his tongue, when he heard something. Something outside of the supply closet. As he was currently in no condition, due to his being interrupted right before a most venomous dressing down of a student, it was Hermione who started banging on the door and yelling for help. Meanwhile, he shut his mouth and stood so as not to be seen in such an undignified manner when the door was hopefully opened.

As the door opened to reveal the beaming and twinkly-eyed countenance of the Headmaster, Hermione didn't think she was more pleased. She had no doubt now that Dumbledore was omnipotent, as he had surely saved her and her house from a whole lot of damage. Damage-control Dumbledore, she would call him from now on. Grinning back at the long-bearded wizard in his slippers and nightcap, twinkly-starred robe thrown over what was no doubt a dressing gown, she stepped past him into the classroom, happier to see it than she ever had before.

"Headmaster," Was all that Professor Snape said, as he nodded grudgingly.

Without any prompting, Dumbledore said, "I was just settling down to bed when I felt as though I was needed somewhere in the classroom. My feet led me down here, and look what I found! Always trust your instincts, I say!"

"I trust that you do not have any misconceptions as to what happened?" Professor Snape said blandly, though he did shift uneasily, Hermione noted. Misconceptions? Surely impropriety would be the furthest thing in Dumbledore's mind at the thought of her being stuck in a closet with him! The thought of doing anything of that nature had never crossed her mind, but it seemed to wiggle it's way into a dark corner of her mind, biding it's time until it would be safe to make an appearance again. Of course, she didn't know this was happening.

"Of course not! Besides, even if the two of you were favorable of each other's company, it would not be inappropriate, as Miss Granger has been of age for a few months now, thanks to her dealings with a Time turner in her third year. But of course that is irrelevant right now! It's nearly eleven, and it would be unseemly of me to let our Head Girl loose sleep by my droning on! Come Miss Granger, I will escort you out of the dungeons, and then you may make your way up to bed!" With a smile and a guiding hand at her back, Hermione was led up and out of the dungeons without another word or glance at Professor Snape. It was, of course, perfectly fine with her. She had the feeling that the Headmaster knew she was in a spot of trouble with the Potions Master when he had opened the door, and was surprised he didn't ask her to elaborate on it. Anyone would have recognized the dark look he was giving her the entire time as a signal of impending doom.

Free of both the Headmaster and the Potions Professor, Hermione made her way leisurely to her Head Girl room, on the fifth floor. She contemplated her luck, but not too deeply, as it might run out in the near future. Well, at least as soon as she had to face Professor Snape! She decided a good night's sleep would be necessary for the next day if she were to deal with him.

Breakfast was pleasant enough, at least until she got a letter from a nondescript school owl, which, in familiar spiky handwriting, told her to be wary of her actions if she had any desire to have her house placed anywhere but fourth in line for the cup. Threats from a teacher? Well, this was new! She glanced up to see him glaring into his tea cup, and decided that meeting his gaze wasn't exactly what she needed at that moment. Hopefully he'd improve before her detention that night. She doubted it though, as they were due for Double Potions in his class that morning.


	4. A chunk of Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Too bad…

Potions

Even after almost seven years of teaching this class, Severus Snape prided himself in knowing that he was still able to inspire fear in his pupils. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if last year's graduates still shrank at the sight of him. There was no doubt that he was the inspiration to many of the first-years' nightmares.

Being imposing, rude, scary, sneaky, and a whole bunch of other unpleasant things gave Severus Snape an outlet for his frustrations, of which he had many. It also made him terribly exhausted by the end of the day, not that he showed it. By dinner-time of every weekday, Severus wished he could just skip the meal and go to bed. He would, if it weren't for the fact that Albus required all the staff to attend dinner. After that, he took care of his duties as Head of house, patrolled corridors and graded papers until the words blurred on the paper. Then he finally went to bed.

You may ask what made Severus Snape do all these things and waste all that energy on innocent students. That doesn't mean you'll ever find an answer.

There was one good reason for this routine, even though the pros and cons were definitely disproportionate. Severus Snape never had nightmares.

It was a bit ironic, and he always chuckled (in his head, of course) when he thought of how he gave students nightmares to banish his own.

Due to many years of practice, Severus had a certain technique that never failed him. His rule of thumb was to never be predictable.

He always burst into the classroom when least expected, whether two minutes late or twenty seconds early, and managed to always get at least one student to jump out of their seat(mostly Neville.) and several others to flinch in surprise and, probably, apprehension. He would always take points away from the student or students for disrupting the class, which usually led to a shortness of points in Gryffindor's house. This of course always made his day a little more bearable, at least until he had to deal with third-year Hufflepuffs.

Now, as Severus stood in front of his Seventh-year Griffindors and Slytherins, he smugly took in the nervous twitches and shifting eyes. Some Gryffindors boldly had their chins up, but he could almost smell the fear on them(And it wasn't because he had a big shnoze). Taking a silent breath, he suddenly started in on his lecture.

"Today you are going to be brewing a potion that will take all your concentration and effort if you are to make it correctly. And you will make it correctly, if you don't want to be in detention tomorrow." At this he allowed his eyebrow to rise, as if daring them to question him. "Who can tell me about the _Modica Novus_?" He asked, knowing what would most likely happen.

True to form, after a hesitant moment, one student's hand shot up. Severus rolled his eyes, and then narrowed them as they landed on the student who had caused him so much ire last night. And there was nothing he could do about it either. Miss Granger had Dumbledore's protection. "Yes, Miss Granger?" He managed to grit out.

"The _Modica Novus_, also known as the refreshing potion, revitalizes whatever it is applied to for a limited amount of time. Depending on the brewer, the potion usually lasts between two and four hours. Many people have tried to make the potion permanent, but-"

"Yes, Miss Granger." Severus interrupted. "We know you're smart. You can write a book about this potion on your own time." After a smug look at her resentful stare, Severus continued. "This potion will test you in ways the N.E.W.T.S will never reach, so if you can make this, you can make anything they throw at you." He threw a nasty look around at the class, just because he could. Then he waved his wand at the board and the directions appeared, which most of the students promptly wrote down. "You know the drill. There will be silence in this classroom."

With that said, Severus sat at his desk and started grading papers. Maybe he could do enough that he got enough sleep for once tonight. Then again, with Miss Granger's detention…

He delved into the papers with reluctance. Third-years were hardly better than First-years. Every now and then he would glance up at the class, satisfied that nothing was going too wrong. There were no smoking cauldrons yet, at least.

Severus managed to finish grading all the essays before the class was over, and walked around the class silently, observing the students as they added the last of their ingredients. Even Neville's potion was adequate, if barely. The potion was supposed to be a cool blue, and his looked teal. Something was bound to happen though.

Severus was walking past Miss Granger's desk as she added her last ingredient. It was the perfect shade of blue of course, but Severus checked it thoroughly for anything he could find wrong. Just as he started to straighten from leaning over her cauldron, he heard a slight cracking sound. Both he and Miss Granger looked up in time to see a piece of the dungeon ceiling falling. It plopped into her potion, and, even before they could do anything, it splattered all over the both of them. Severus was only glad that this happened after the step that required the potion to cool. Scalding potion was not very comfortable on the skin.

Of course, neither was a cooled potion. He watched as Miss Granger wiped some of the slimy potion away from her eyes and blink at him. It was too bad he couldn't assign detention for this. "Mr. Malfoy, I want you to stay behind in class today to make sure everyone turns in a labeled sample of their potion. Miss Granger and I are going to the Infirmary." With that, he grabbed the messy cauldron with the chunk of Hogwarts in it and trudged out of the classroom, Miss Granger following behind obediently. He was glad the mess stopped at his waist, as he didn't have to worry about the potion squelching around in his shoes.

When they arrived at the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey only had to glance at Severus' sullen expression before pointing towards the door that led to the shower rooms. Of course there were four separate rooms, so they wouldn't have to take turns for who used the shower.

Severus sighed under the hot water. He always enjoyed his showers, no matter what comments were made about him not taking them. It was a daily ritual he performed every morning, like one would drink coffee to wake up. And it did wake him up. His disposition stayed less sour than usual at least until the first class started.

He ran his hands through his hair and over his face, making sure to rid any evidence of the potion accident. They would use what was left in the cauldron to troubleshoot if they had any bad reactions to the potion.

Soon enough he was finished, and reluctantly turned the shower off. He grabbed a fluffy white towel and started to dry off, absently ruffling his hair with it before heading towards a small pile of clean robes the elves had laid out for him. Dressing, he didn't even bother looking in the mirror before heading out of the room, not wanting to see his ugly mug until he had to.

He waited on a nearby hospital bed for five more minutes before Miss Granger came out. Of course, it would have taken her much longer than usual to clean out the potion from her hair. He looked at it, and noticed it was different somehow. Was it just him, or did the Bushy-haired Know-it-all not look so bushy-haired anymore? He blinked, but just before he could observe her features more closely, she interrupted.

"Your hair!" She exclaimed, looking surprised.

"Please don't tell me you've never noticed its condition before, Miss Granger. One would think you were slacking on your observation skills." He said sarcastically, not wanting to hear an inadvertent insult from the one student who had never called him names.

"No-No Professor! It's just-your hair-it's-it's…beautiful." She managed to get out.

As he stared at her in genuine astonishment, Severus tried to think of a more peculiar situation in his life. He couldn't think of any.


	5. SideEffects

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in these stories. That stinks.

Side-Effects

Hermione Granger and Severus Snape stood side-by-side in front of the huge mirror by the shower rooms, examining the consequences of the potions accident. Though neither said it, they both thought the drastic change in their hair's condition was incredible enough to go on _Witch Weekly_. Neither had ever seen their hair in an easily manageable state like this, ever. Hermione could actually run her hands through her hair without them getting stuck, or the curls misshaping horribly. Severus Snape actually looked as if his hair had been washed, which was a definite improvement.

"Well, Miss Granger, if this lasts longer than the estimated four hours, you can consider yourself exempt from detention tonight. We will meet here at five this afternoon, so that I may check for any…unwanted side-effects." As he said this, Severus continued to look at his reflection. That was as close to a thank-you as Miss Granger was going to get. He noticed that, somehow, his complexion wasn't quite so pale as before, and a few frown wrinkles were gone. Hmm. That was interesting. He'd have to ask Granger what other changes in appearance she had experienced this afternoon. Knowing his luck, the side-effects would go away by the four hour time period, or distort his features horribly.

If that were to happen, Heaven help Miss Granger. Severus imagined with glee the faces on the students when he walked in. After years of seeing him as the greasy potions master, what would they see him as now? He was no greasy git anymore. Well, at least for four hours yet. Shaking his head to rid his thoughts, Severus left the Hospital Wing, despite the protests for a diagnostic test on his person given by Poppy "Over-pampering" Pomphrey. He had a class to get to.

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Hermione walked into Transfiguration and gave Professor McGonagall the note Madam Pomphrey had reluctantly written for her. Hermione was glad she was able to escape the woman's clutches, telling her that there were no immediate harmful effects and that she and Professor Snape would be back that very afternoon to make sure everything was fine. The woman could then do diagnostic spells to her heart's content, as long as it didn't get in the way of Hermione's studying plan. She had a set schedule to follow if she were ever to pass her N.E.W.T. tests. Hermione watched with slight amusement as the disapproving frown disappeared from her professor's face as she read the note, and then looked over Hermione, as if she could tell with her eyes some disease or problem Madam Pomphrey could have missed. Not bloody likely. The woman then nodded to her and Hermione headed towards the seat saved for her, right between her two friends.

She could feel their curious looks, but pointedly stared at the professor when she started talking. Her friends reluctantly, but obediently, started to listen to the teacher, as they knew they wouldn't get anything out of her until class was over.

As soon as they escaped the classroom, a half-dozen questions flew at her.

"Hey, Hermione! What happened to your hair?"

"How is the Greasy Git?"

"What happened with the potion?"

"Is it true Snape got turned into a Troll?"

"Did you two have to shower together? Yech!"

"How did you make your potion explode?"

Getting sick of the barrage of questions, Hermione slowed down, knowing that they'd keep coming if she didn't answer them now. "The state of my hair is due thanks to the potion, the 'Greasy Git' is just as fine as ever, minus the greasy part, a chunk of the dungeon ceiling landed in my cauldron right after I finished the potion, Professor Snape did _not_ turn into a troll, we did _not_ shower together, Lavender, and my potion did not explode. Anything else?"

"Well," Ron said, looking at her hair. "How long will the potion last?"

"I have no clue, and you better all hope that there are no bad side-effects." Hermione snapped out, quite annoyed. Honestly, Lavender asked the most ridiculous questions. Showering with Professor Snape? Simply preposterous. She decided to study a bit more before her next class. She couldn't deny that having free periods was a definite bonus of being a Head Girl, no matter how much she liked her classes. It gave her the alone time she needed, since all the other students, besides the Head Boy, had classes.

Hermione had been shocked to hear that Blaise Zabini had become the Head Boy when she arrived at Hogwarts. She hadn't really known too much about him, as he was not a participant in many of the things Slytherins were mostly noted for. She had even learned that his family was neutral about the war. How they accomplished that feat was amazing to Hermione, as he was a friend to the likes of Draco Malfoy. She had noticed that he had no inhibitions about hanging around with people of other houses though. Kind of like a lone wolf. She had taken all this to heart and decided to treat him with respect and see what he would make of it. She was delightedly surprised when the Slytherin treated her in kind, and they had gotten along famously these past months. Sure, most of the Slytherins sneered at their friendship, but neither Hermione nor Blaise had cared.

Hermione headed towards what was known as her table in the library. She arrived to see that Blaise was already there. "Good morning." She said absently, as she scanned the shelves for anything that could help her with the up-coming N.E.W.T.s.

"Morning. Finally decided to do something with your hair, did you? I guess showering with Snape didn't turn out so bad after all then." His voice floated to her across the table.

Hermione huffed in mock annoyance. "The rumors people come up with!" She turned to see Blaise smiling at her in amusement.

"Well, seeing as you are of legal age, dear Professor Snape has every right towards making advances on your person, if you wished it. So you see? It's not all that far-fetched as you put it. So, tell me. Do you have a secret crush on the professor?" Blaise said all this in a surprisingly persuasive tone. Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Honestly! What is this? Are you trying to play matchmaker or something?" She made sure to put her hands on her hips to emphasize her point.

"I think someone's already doing that, and doing it well, I might add. What, between late-night rendezvous and potions accidents gone right, you'll be snogging the man by next week. I'll even wager on it." Blaise looked back unblinkingly with raised eyebrows, showing he was serious. Hermione couldn't speak for a few seconds, which was a surprising feat.

"Blaise, knowing you, if nothing happened by tomorrow night, you'd try to set us up somehow. I don't even know where people get the idea of going out with their professor! It's utterly scandalous!" She managed to say all this without stuttering, even when an image of Professor Snape popped in her head, carrying her books for her. Completely preposterous!

She sat down at the table with ill grace and opened a book on the Goblin Wars, ready to delve deep into it and forget about the rumors. She didn't see the horrified look Blaise took on when he read the cover of the book. "Hermione, you really need to get a boyfriend. I don't even think Binns recommended that as a book for the N.E.W.T.s. This just goes to show that you need a little distraction." A huff from her was all the answer he got, so he just shrugged and decided to plot later.

Forty-five minutes later, Hermione was sure she had read pretty much all that might be in the final exam from this particular book, plus a bit extra. She sighed and went to put the book away, noticing that it was almost time for herbology. Blaise looked up from his Transfiguration text and decided he might as well head towards his next class as well.

"Remember what I said, Hermione, and be prepared. Snape is unpredictable at best." He said in passing as he headed towards the doors of the library.

"That's Professor Snape, Zabini!" He heard Hermione call after him, and he couldn't help the grin that spread across his face, even if Hermione would never see it.

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Severus Snape sighed and pinched the bridge of his robust nose. The next class would be his last. Third years. Joy.

He heard them scramble into the classroom, but did not lift his gaze from the desk, wanting to see them as little as possible. Horrible little brats. Finally, when all was quiet, he stood up and gazed out at the class. There were some gasps as they started to notice how unusually clean his hair was, even in the dim light of the dungeons.

One little chit even had the nerve to point at him. Didn't they know better by now? He almost growled in annoyance.

"Do not think that any change in my appearance is going to make your grades better or your skills at potions-making…adequate. I am the same person I was on your last lesson, and you would do well to remember that before you try to ask me any impertinent questions or, better yet, any questions at all. Today you will be brewing a mild sleeping draught used for small children. Can anyone tell me the main ingredients?" After this introduction, the class went by as smoothly as usual (which wasn't saying much), and Severus dismissed them with no more ill-will than usual. He sank back down onto his desk chair and summoned a headache potion, downing it. Then, looking at his very precise watch, he saw that he had exactly six minutes and thirty-two seconds to get to the Hospital Wing, so he could meet up with Miss Granger and check for ill side-effects.

He got there to see the young woman already sitting on one of the numerous hospital beds, going through a thorough check-up by Madam Pomphrey. Severus just stood and watched until the woman was finished. "Well, Miss Granger, it appears that you are in excellent health." He smirked at how reluctantly she said this, but his face quickly soured when the woman turned to him. "Your turn." She replied with a knowing smile, and Severus sat reluctantly on one of the nearby beds. The infuriating woman knew how he hated being here. Everyone knew he'd been here too many times to count.

"Have you noticed any changes due to the potion besides your hair's condition?" Severus managed to say before Madam Pomphrey started examining his mouth.

"Well, I noticed that my nails are healthy and unblemished, unlike this morning. I have a bad habit of chewing them." Miss Granger held out her hands, palms down, for him to see. "That's about it, besides the hair."

Severus nodded as best as he could while having his eyes examined. "It seems like you don't have as many wrinkles, Severus. I could definitely use a bit of that potion." Madam Pomphrey noted with a smile. Severus just quirked an eyebrow at her. Soon enough, the examination was done, and Madam Pomphrey told him he was in better health than usual, and left the two to discuss the potion.

"Miss Granger, as it has been more than the allotted four hours, I believe you are free of a detention tonight. Just make sure that the next time a bit of Hogwarts decides to land in your potion it has as good effects as this time." There was a glint in his eye, and he knew Miss Granger could see it, as she felt it safe enough to smile at him. He blinked. When was the last time someone truly smiled at him? Well, Madam Pomphrey doesn't count. She knew him since he was a first year, knew his temper, and knew that no matter how ill he was, he appreciated what she did. An unspoken appreciation. "I will be dissecting the potion tomorrow and would appreciate your…assistance. I will be in my office waiting for you at seven. You will, of course, get extra credit for this." He could see her eyes brighten at this last sentence and smirked. "Good evening, Miss Granger."

With a curt bow Severus turned and headed towards the Great Hall, ready to drown himself in some pumpkin juice. He did not notice how Miss Granger stared after him, or indeed, that he had acted so strangely engaging to none other than a student.

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Hermione laid in her Head Girl bed, thinking about the events of the day. It was, of course, a nightly ritual to her. If she didn't have a chance to debrief herself of what happened, there would be no hope of her ever sleeping. "Let's see," She said aloud to herself. "First, and most importantly, was that potions accident. Hopefully my hair will stay true to its new form after tomorrow's shower. Next were, of course, the many questions and rumors. Then it was Blaise's matchmaking scheme. That boy is really tenacious at times! Next was the check-up with Madam Pomphrey. That woman really is thorough. And then, Professor Snape's oddly solicitous attitude towards me before he escaped to dinner. How odd. He even bowed to me. Me, a student!" Hermione laughed to herself at the ridiculousness of it. Surely Blaise's suggestions were getting to her head. She decided a good night's rest was a good cure for such strange happenings.


	6. Potions and Party Plans

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Darn.

AN: Sorry that it's taken me so long to publish anything! I've been pretty busy lately, but I promise to type up some good stuff and post more soon! I'm working on a great little one-shot that's not so short right now, and I can't wait to get it out for your opinion, so keep checking! Oh, and I LURVE reviews, so please write your feedback! Thanks!

Potions and Party Plans

Before Hermione could lift her hand to knock on the door, it was swiftly opened by Professor Snape on the other side. He looked down at her for a second, his face in shadow, before moving aside for her to enter.

"Good morning, Professor," She said demurely. Hopefully there would be no cause for detention tonight.

"I did not invite you here for small talk, Miss Granger. The potion is over there." Severus' tone was not as sharp as usual, and Hermione followed his pointed finger to his desk, where her cauldron sat.

Looking it over, she was relieved that it didn't seem as though it had melted or deformed. The potion was just as it was the previous morning, as Snape must have put a stasis charm on it. There in the middle was a piece of the dungeon ceiling covered in the potion, about the size of a softball. Hermione still couldn't believe that after all these years a piece of the ceiling finally fell. According to _Hogwarts: A History,_ the castle had never needed repairs. Why would it need them now?

Soon enough, Professor Snape had joined her, and they both just looked at the potion for a minute. "I have a few things we could use to find out what exactly happened to cause this effect. Are you sure that you did everything correctly before the ceiling decided to fall?" Hermione gave him a look that said 'Who do you think I am?' and he turned back to the potion. "Right. That simplifies things. Now we just need to figure out what exactly was on that piece of rock. We can do that by taking the surrounding rock and checking it. Then we will make the potion again and add what we found into the potion. It will be more complicated than your usual workload, Miss Granger. There will be no memorization of facts or following directions. We will at some point have to rely on our instinct and ability to sense what is needed. Do you think you can handle such a daunting prospect?" This last part was said with a smirk.

"I believe that I am capable of ingenuity, professor." Hermione said calmly, and was pleased to see that the man showed subtle signs of disappointment. If he thought he could get a rise out of her over such a bland statement (well, compared to the usual.), she would just have to prove him wrong and be the, er, bigger person.

Seeing as the previous statement was just figurative, and that Severus Snape was literally the biggest (or tallest) person in this situation, Hermione stood by with different lab tools while he collected various samples from the ceiling, which was luckily within his reach. There would be no accidents over ladders or levitation charms here. After the Professor was satisfied with the amount collected, he placed each of the samples on separate tables. There were enough that the whole front row of ten desks was occupied. He then disappeared behind the door of the infamous supply closet, this time making sure not to shut the door. After a few seconds, he reappeared with a large flask full of clear liquid.

Knowing that there would be a snide retort, Hermione did not give in to her curiosity and ask what the liquid was. This caused a raised eyebrow.

"Has the famous know-it-all finally given up her childish ways and matured?" He made sure to smirk in a very irritating way, but Hermione was determined not to budge.

"I am sure that you will tell me at some point what that potion is, so I see no reason in asking what it is. If you were to withhold the information, the consequences could be dire, considering the fact that I am helping." Was it just her, or did a cheek muscle actually twitch in irritation on his face? She almost let a satisfied smile slip out.

Severus could see no point to argue with her on without sounding petty, so he stalked swiftly over to the first sample. By each was a cauldron, and he made sure to measure a half cup of the liquid into it. "This potion will allow us to decipher what the substance is on each of the swabs. It will do this by taking the true form of the ingredient in the vapor rising above the cauldron. The first step is to set the potion to a simmer, so that enough vapor is rising to form a clear picture. Then we drop the cotton swab into the mixture. You must disregard the formation of the cotton plant, as that is just the potion identifying the cotton swab. Soon enough it will show the other ingredients. You must examine it closely, as many plants may look almost identical. After we have figured out all the possible ingredients, we must use our arithmancy skills to figure out how the ingredients were prepared before they assumed their position on the ceiling. That will, in fact, be one of the most difficult and drawn out steps to verifying what exactly caused the potion's reaction. We must then try to recreate said potion without completely blowing ourselves up. You need to understand that this could take several months, even until the end of your school year. I need to know now whether you are in or out."

Hermione, her eyes going dewy at the thought of all the hard work in front of her and the extra credit and experience she would get from this, nodded her assent. When Professor Snape just raised an eyebrow, she was able to mutter an embarrassed 'I'm in.'

Severus stopped the urge to roll his eyes at the predictability of Miss Granger, and contemplated whether or not the next few months would be a living hell. By that time, the potion was ready to have the sample put in it, and he banished the thoughts for later. He'd find out soon enough whether he was prepared for this bombardment of his free time. Turning to the potion, he dropped the swab in, careful to use what looked like an odd pair of tweezers so nothing of his self was on the sample. It would be quite embarrassing for his naked form to show up in the fumes.

After the cotton plant was shown the vapor, a few other forms took shape. After examining and identifying each, Hermione would write down the image shown and the possible ways it could be prepared. On the list were a Centaur, a scarab beetle, a Bobutuber plant, and a Whomping Willow. Seeing as different parts of these could be used in different ways, Hermione understood that her work was decidedly cut out for her. This project would be no easy task. She would just have to remind herself of the rewards. Surely the creation of a new potion with a Master would get her into one of the more prestigious wizarding colleges.

The process was repeated on all ten samples. Luckily, it seemed that there were only twelve different ingredients found in total. Several of the ingredients were repeatedly discovered in each of the samples. The twelve samples were, namely, Centaur, Scarab Beetle, Bobutuber plant, Whomping Willow, Lace-wig Fly, Bicorn, Cockroach, Flobber Worm, Mandrake, Dandelions, Willow tree, and Rosemary. Each of these had at least two different parts that could be used in a potion, and more than twice as many ways of preparing them. They would be lucky if they finished in a couple months.

Just as they finished recording the many ways the ingredients could be prepared, Severus heard an inhuman growling sound, and looked up in surprise. He noticed that Miss Granger's face was growing a particularly bright red. She saw his look.

"If you haven't noticed, it's almost noon, and I skipped breakfast." She had a dignified tone as if she shouldn't even be explaining herself, but her embarrassed look ruined the effect.

Severus nodded, surprised that the time went by so fast. He had thought that the time would drag by. He watched as Miss Granger left, before he realized how hungry he was.

Obeying his stomach, Severus headed towards the Great Hall, where no doubt Miss Granger was already. Predictably, the student body was starting to notice the improved condition of his hair. No doubt word got out after his classes the previous day. He snarled as well as he could, but it didn't seem to deter the students as much as usual. He supposed his hair was worth it.

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Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table, the delicious spread making her mouth water. There was nothing like fresh fruit and sandwiches after a hard day's work. Predictably, Ron and Harry were already there when she arrived, with a spot saved. Everyone knew that Ron attended the meals almost religiously. As it was, she could tell he had been eating for a while, as it looked like he was actually chewing his food. She smiled to herself at her friend's antics. Looking to her left, she could see that Harry had his interest more situated at the Ravenclaw table than on his plate. She idly wondered what girl had caught his eye now that Cho was out of the picture.

Before she had much of a chance to get into the business of eating, Hermione was interrupted by Gryffindor's gossip girls, Lavender and Parvati. "Wow Hermione, your hair really does look great. How long do you think it will last?"

"Hopefully, forever." Hermione replied back with a grin, which was returned two-fold.

"What we really came over to talk to you about was the girl night we're having. You're going to come, right?" Lavender asked. Hermione knew about the weekly girl nights that happened every Saturday, but she never really went to them, as she was usually too busy studying or chasing the boys out of trouble. Looking at the pleading faces of the two girls, she decided it wouldn't hurt to have a bit of relaxation from studying on the weekend.

"When and where?" She asked, smiling when the girls hi-fived each other in excitement.

"It's going to be at nine tonight, and we were wondering, since you're the Head Girl, if we could have the party in your room?" Parvati said, straightforward. She knew I didn't go for complicated hints.

"I suppose that would be alright. How many girls are we expecting?" Hermione wanted to be a good host. Already she was thinking of things she could get from the kitchens.

"There will probably be about six of us, including you. You can invite some more if you want." Lavender replied.

"Ok, well I'll see you two at nine then." Hermione replied, and with that they left. Well, it seemed she had something to look forward to tonight. Now about those snacks…


	7. The Problem With Dares

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling sure is lucky.

A/N: I am really really sorry that it's taken so long to update this story. I've had a bit of writer's block lately, and have been trying to clear it up by doing short stories and such. Hopefully you're not too mad. I promise I'll try to do better! Anyways, enjoy!

The Problem with Dares

By the time a knock was heard on the portrait door, Hermione's rooms were ready for a night of fun. Walking across the common room, she gave a warning look to Blaise before opening the door. Outside were seven girls. Besides Lavender and Parvati, there were Susan Bones, Ginny Weasley (whom Hermione had invited), Luna Lovegood, Hannah Abbot, and Parvati's twin, Padma. The gaggle of girls migrated from the portrait hole to Hermione's room, some of them giggling as Blaise waggled his eyebrows at them.

Finally, within the safety of the room, the shyness dissipated with a swiftness that would have shocked Hermione if she wasn't used to it.

"Hermione, how is it that you haven't snagged the Head Boy? You two get along really well." This came from Hannah.

"I don't think I could ever see Blaise in a romantic way, handsome or not. He's just not my type." Hermione replied, not surprised they were bugging her about her love life, or lack thereof.

"What is your type?" Parvati piped up, looking eager.

"Well, she went with Krum for a while, didn't she?" Lavender answered before the Head Girl could open her mouth. "Obviously someone tall, dark, and brooding."

"That sounds suspiciously like Professor Snape." Ginny added, causing all the girls to look speculatively at her. Maybe a party wasn't such a good idea so soon after the potion incident. "Anyway, let's get some snacks and play a good ol' game of Truth or Dare."

They all went to were Hermione had laid out some snacks on the coffee table and then sat around it on the small sofa and comfy arm chairs. Hermione and Luna both took a seat on the floor, making a circle around the coffee table.

"Since Hermione hosted tonight's gathering, I think she should be the one to pick the first victim." Susan said.

"Ok. Ginny, truth or dare?" Hermione immediately started in on the game, not wanting the subject to go back to her and Professor Snape.

Ginny sat up straight, with a challenging gleam in her eye. "Dare."

"What a Gryffindor." Hermione teased her. "Ok, I dare you to…confess your undying love for ferrets every time you are near Malfoy." Everyone giggled, imagining the look on the Pureblooded prat's face. Ginny grinned.

"That sounds like fun. Can I elaborate how much I love to use ferrets in my potions experiments? Way better than rats." Hermione nodded, trying not to snort. "Ok, Luna, truth or dare?"

Luna, a dreamy smile on her face, replied, "Truth." To this Ginny grinned as if expecting this answer.

"Who have you been crushing on for the last few months?" At this, all the other girls looked at both in surprise. Ginny raised an eyebrow. "What, haven't you noticed that she's been in La-La land more than usual lately?" At the girl's expressions, obviously not.

"Ron Weasley." Luna sighed with adoration. Hermione raised an eyebrow. The girl really had it bad. Too bad she set her sights on the most oblivious boy in the school. Hermione knew, from being friends with the boy for almost seven years. Luna could probably wave a banner in front of his face proclaiming her love for him, and he wouldn't notice.

"Good luck with that one. He's a little slow on the uptake." She gave her advice, wondering whether she should feel sorrier for Luna or Ron. Luna nodded sagely, as if she knew just what to do, and Hermione smiled. It was about time for Ron to get a girlfriend anyways.

The game continued, and soon the truths were a little more intrusive, and the dares, well, a little more daring. Soon enough, it was Lavender's turn. "Hermione, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Hermione replied, wondering if she should have chosen truth instead, as both Lavender and Parvati had an evil smile on their faces. She mentally shrugged. It couldn't be too bad.

"I dare you to…" Parvati whispered in her ear, and her grin grew wider. "…kiss Snape on the cheek the next time you see him!" Hermione's eyes widened.

"But that's against the school's code!" Parvati shook her head.

"You know it isn't. We all looked it up when Lockhart taught here, remember? Don't know what I ever saw in him." She muttered the last sentence. Getting back on track, she smiled. "Student-teacher relationships are allowed once the student is of age, and has consented, with permission from the Headmaster. There's no way you can back out of this one." Lavender took one of her wrists and, with her wand, left a faint purple line on it. "That'll fade once you do it, and then you can show us your wrist." Hermione grumbled, thinking she'd never get the mark off. She guessed it must be karma for the curse set on Eloise Midgen.

Eventually, as more girls started yawning and rubbing their eyes, they stopped the game. Soon enough, everyone was settled in for bed, some dreading what they would have to do the next day. At least it was only a Saturday.

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Severus grumbled lightly as he walked through the corridors to the Great Hall for breakfast. His stomach echoed his annoyance, and he almost chuckled, but knew it would be odd for anyone to see, as he was supposed to be the black-hearted bat of the dungeons. He made sure to glare extra hard at the students who instinctually cleared a path for him.

Just as he laid hand on the doors that would lead to his breakfast, he heard someone call out his name. He made sure a foreboding scowl was set on his face before he turned around (not that it took much effort. His stomach was very demanding!). There she was, the girl who had managed to get in his hair some way or another every other day, it seemed. He supposed, since she fixed said hair's problem, he could allow her to bother him for a few minutes today. Tonight as well, as they had more experimenting to be done.

He ushered the girl into an empty classroom, wary that their encounter might lead to more embarrassment to him. If it did, he didn't want it to be seen by anyone else!

"Yes, Miss Granger?" He was very impressed with his studied nonchalance. He observed as a few fleeting emotions ran across her face, indecipherable to even him, a seasoned warrior in the art of reading people. He was shocked into stillness when she suddenly ambushed him with a quick, but soft, kiss on the cheek. He hadn't even been able to regain his nerve until he heard the door shut behind him. Some seasoned warrior he was…

Sitting now at the staff table in the Great Hall, his hand unconsciously rose to touch his cheek when he saw her among the rest of the students. Students! What was he doing, wondering what her intentions were? There was no way she could possibly have a crush on him, no matter if it was objectionable or not. It was most likely a prank put upon her by a fellow student.

Nevertheless, he still thought about it throughout the entire day, and, by the time he sat down to dinner, was determined to get some answers. He found himself glancing her way more than usual, as if silently urging her to finish her meal so that he could meet her in the lab. She took her sweet time though, making him almost growl with impatience. He saw as she talked and giggled with her friends that her arm would absently rub her wrist from time to time.

Deciding he would just meet her down in the dungeons, he swiftly but gracefully rose from his place at the staff table and left the Great Hall.


	8. Explaining What You Don't Know

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I just manipulate them! Mwahahahaha…ahem…

A/N: I am so sorry for making everyone wait so long! I've had major writer's block on this, and so I went on and started another story. Brilliant, huh? Anyways, I'm determined to write this out until it reaches a satisfying conclusion (we all know what that means!). Bear with me and feel free to nudge me if I get behind again! Thanks to all those reviewers supporting this story!

Explaining What You Don't Know

Hermione quickly sat down, catching her breath. Yep. She had just done a 'kiss and run'. How ungryffindor of her…Well, at least she didn't have to see him again until…until they experimented on the potion tonight. Crap.

Her forehead was looking slightly red from banging it on the table by the time the other girls gathered around her to get their breakfast. One look at her face, and Ginny asked what all the other girls were wondering.

"So, did you do it?" To this, she received another forehead bang on the table, which she took as an affirmative. "And?" She continued, wanting more detail. "Did he give you detention, or snog your brains out?"

Hermione finally looked at her, a bewildered look in her eyes. 'Snog her brains out?' She hoped that weren't possible. "I, erm…I ran."

"You … what? You ran away from him?" At this the girls all giggled, imagining the look that must have been on his face. "Well, at least you won't have to see him until class tomorrow."

"Actually …" Hermione hesitated, but, seeing all the expectant looks and knowing she couldn't back out of what she was about to say, she continued. "I'm experimenting on the potion with him tonight."

Lavender squealed and clapped her hands. "He wanted a private place to snog your brains out!"

Hermione's eyes widened. "No!"

She said this a bit too loud, and garnered some attention from the tables around them. She continued, but in a quieter tone. "We were already working on dissecting the potion before I … well, you know." Her face turned red as she tried not to think of what happened.

This didn't dampen Lavender's mood. "I see. So now he has you in the dungeons all to himself!"

Hermione sighed and didn't reply. Ginny patted her on the back, but it was clear from her grin that she was thinking along the same lines as Lavender.

"How am I going to survive tonight?" She asked, not expecting an answer, but Lavender had something to say about it, as always.

"Well, I just got a cute new skirt you can wear, and we can transfigure you're shoes so they'll actually have heels…"

"I didn't mean it like that! I meant the awkwardness and embarrassment. What am I going to say to him?"

Ginny's grin turned more devious. "Well, you definitely don't want to tell him it was a dare!" Parvati and Lavender shook their heads vigorously in agreement, their eyes wide. "Maybe you could tell him you, ah, had some weird dreams and you weren't in your right mind?"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think he'd fall for that."

Parvati sighed, exasperated. "Why don't you just tell him you have a crush on him? It might at least keep him from asking any questions. Besides, I'm beginning to think that wouldn't be far from the truth. You seemed plenty eager to do your dare, considering you only got the challenge last night."

Hermione turned beat red, and turned her attention to her food. Ginny could tell she wasn't in the mood for teasing. To Hermione, social invalid, this was a life crisis. "Why don't you just go there and let things work themselves out. Maybe he's forgotten it by now." At this, they all looked to the head's table, where the Potions Master was staring right back at them. They all quickly looked away, and Hermione whimpered.

Ginny continued, "Well, maybe not, but you don't have to be the one to bring that topic up. Cheer up. You'll think of something. You're Hermione Granger. If anything, you can just Obliviate him." The girls around her gasped, but she raised her hands and chuckled, "kidding."

Hermione had the whole day ahead of her to agonize about what she would do, and she still hadn't come up with a good plan. Ron and Harry sensed she was on edge, and so took their selves out to play Quiddich, leaving her gratefully alone.

Finally, she tromped down to the dungeons reluctantly after dinner, still unsure what would happen. She knocked on the door and entered, after hearing him beckon her. She noticed that he had already started working on writing down more possible ways and combinations of ingredients that had reacted to make the potion do what it did.

Clearing her throat nervously, she walked closer and examined what they had already written down. There were so many possible variations.

"Miss Granger, we are going to start doing arithmantic equations on each of the ingredients. This should shorten the list considerably, though it will take a while to see through the equations whether the addition needed was more than one ingredient. Then we will have to figure out how each ingredient was prepared, before we start experimenting with the potion. Seeing as the additional ingredients in the potion were added at the end of its making, and that it was cooled when the ceiling decided to crumble, we should be able to get by with making the potion beforehand and putting in the other ingredients as we go." Professor Snape said all this while continuing to write on the parchment in front of him. He finally looked up at her and slid over the parchment he had been writing on.

Hermione took the parchment and looked down to find a list of ingredients she needed to do equations on. She noticed that it was only about half of the ingredients they had sampled from the ceiling, and figured that the Potions Master was doing the rest. The two sat in almost silence, the only thing breaking it being the scratching of the quills on parchment.

Eventually, Hermione could not ignore her drooping eyelids, and checked the time, only to find that it was almost curfew. She inwardly groaned. She knew she would make it back with time to spare, but her circle of friends would no doubt be speculating the length of her absence. No doubt there would be one scenario of her being murdered, while another would think she was too preoccupied with being snogged to bother eating.

Hermione stretched her arms and stood, causing the Professor to glance up from his papers. "What are you doing, Miss Granger?"

His stern visage unnerved her, but she managed to stutter out a response, "Going to Gryffindor tower. It's almost curfew." He nodded and she started for the door.

"Miss Granger," He called out again, and though his voice was a normal volume, it seemed to echo through the classroom and reverberate through her frame. "I want to know why you accosted my person this morning."

Hermione froze, finally caught in the moment she had dreaded all day. Her mind went blank and she struggled to remember the advice given to her at the breakfast table by her friends. Let things work out? There was no way she would get around this without a reply back, unless a miracle happened.

"Miss Granger, I'm waiting for an answer." His tolerance was wearing thin, she could tell in his voice, though it was never very magnanimous to begin with. If she didn't answer soon, it would be detention and a reply forced from her. She wondered briefly if he would resort to Veritaserum if necessary.

Finally, as if knowing he was about to assign detention for being uncooperative, she said the only other advice remembered from that morning.

"I-I er, have a crush on you, P-professor." After that squeaked sentence, she dashed from the room, and therefore was unable to see Professor Snape blink and shake off a quizzical look that had appeared at her confession.

A/N: And the plot thickens once again! Dun dun dun! Don't worry, Hogwarts will be back to play in the next chapter! What a cheeky castle…


	9. Sleeping On It

Disclaimer: I don't own the poor unfortunate fictional souls that I torture in a voodoo-like way.

Sleeping On It

Severus sat up with a grumble and pulled the covers away in disgust. There was no way he was getting any sleep tonight.

No matter how many times he'd gone over the events of the previous day (it was two in the morning, as he very well knew), he still couldn't settle in his mind what exactly was going on. He had a case he couldn't crack, a riddle he couldn't solve, a conundrum unsettled (you get the picture), in the form of one Miss Hermione Granger. The way she looked, before she had, as he'd said that day to her, 'accosted' his person, was so mixed that he couldn't tell whether or not she was genuine in her actions, or forced by some unknown factor to do such an thing.

Then, to have a stuttered admission of affection come from that very same young woman, it was baffling. How very curious; Hence, the sleeplessness.

Severus stood from his four-poster, wincing at the cold of the stone floor, but nevertheless, starting to pace. Maybe he could wear himself out enough to sleep a little before dawn broke. He'd never been in such a situation before. He needed advice.

That's it! He smirked as the idea came to him. He would go to the Headmaster, let him worry over it. Surely he and Minerva would have no wish for their brightest student to get tangled with the snarky old potions professor! Then Severus wouldn't even have to do anything. He'd just sit back and enjoy the histrionics. Surely they would turn the girl's affections in a different direction.

Sighing with relief, Severus felt that, if he lay abed for a while, he might actually get some sleep this night.

….

First thing the next morning, Severus headed to Dumbledore's office. "Drooble's Best Blowing Gum," He muttered, glancing around to make sure no one else heard. It wasn't so much that he didn't want the password known. He just didn't want some student hearing him speaking about candy with an old stone gargoyle.

The statue admitted him with a smirk, and Severus subdued the impulse to curse it. Sometimes he thought Dumbledore used such ridiculous passwords just for the knowledge that the sour potions master would have to say such things each time he wanted admittance, if not for the fact that he knew very well how bonkers the Headmaster already was without this sadistic side.

"Come in, Severus, my boy!" The old man called from behind his cracked door, and Severus pushed it open to see the Headmaster beaming at him.

"Albus, as I'm quite certain you know, I haven't been a boy for decades." This only brought a cheery laugh from Albus. Severus felt certain that he was getting a cavity just being in this place. He glanced around, seeing all the various whirligigs, the bowls of candy ever present on the desk, and a small, unfinished game of Gobstones going on right in front of the Headmaster. "I can see you're awfully busy."

This brought out another laugh, and Severus steeled himself to keep from cringing. "Severus, you were always a funny one. Anyway, what was it you wanted?"

Severus rolled his eyes. "Undoubtedly, the situation I'm now in will most likely humor you as well. Miss Granger has found that she has feelings for me that are unsuitable, considering our respective situations."

Albus looked a little surprised. "Surely you are used to such feelings being displayed towards yourself by now, Severus? You are the one that induces them. I am surprised though, that our Head Girl would do anything so disrespectful, after all this time being your personal champion. I'm sure you've noticed before how she defends you to her friends?"

Severus sighed and pinched his nose. "Quite," he replied, commiserating with his self in the fact that he would have to speak more plainly to the Headmaster. "Miss Granger has not expressed hatred towards me. It is, in fact, the opposite. A … crush." Saying that word made his mouth shrivel a bit, as though he had bit into a lemon.

He watched as the eyebrows rose on the old man's face, and the almost ever present twinkle seemed to get a bit brighter. "Well now, that's quite a different situation."

"Indeed."

"Something needs to be done, and immediately. I don't want Miss Granger to have to suffer from unrequited feelings and do badly in class from distraction." He stood up and walked towards a closet door. Severus was surprised and pleased that the Headmaster was taking such a serious interest in his situation. He might not even need a headache potion later.

"What do you plan to do, Albus?"

"Patience, my boy," The old man got out a ring of tinkling keys and sorted through them until he found a small brass one. He stuck it into the keyhole and turned it, the click of the door coming unlocked sounding throughout the room. Turning the knob, he opened the door to reveal –

"Miss Granger! What are you doing in Dumbledore's closet?" Severus took a few steps back in surprise and confusion, looking from the Headmaster to the young woman, and back.

"Ah, Severus, you really are an odd duck! She's here for the wedding, of course!" The man chuckled, while Miss Granger blushed and looked away shyly.

Severus' mouth was opening and closing, but nothing was coming out. He mentally scolded himself. Why was nothing coming out? He stumbled back a bit more and ended up in one of the cushy red chairs that were always situated before the desk. Finally, he got his voice back. "Albus, I don't—I don't understand."

Albus smiled. "No need to get nervous, my boy." He waved his wand and Severus looked down to see himself in deep purple dress robes with potions bottles depicted in various places on them. "I'll walk you down the aisle." Severus was grabbed by the arm and dragged to Miss Granger's side. She looked up at him and he froze, gulping. She had a slight smile on her face, along with a light flush, and he found it oddly … bewitching. "You may now kiss the bride."

Severus looked sharply at the Headmaster, who was now standing on his desk amongst his forgotten Gobstones, which were sporadically spouting liquid in every which way, like a fountain show. "Wha—what?"

He felt a tug on his robes and looked down to see Miss Granger with an impatient look on her face. "The _Modica Novus_, also known as the refreshing potion, revitalizes whatever it is applied to for a limited amount of time. Depending on the brewer, the potion usually lasts between two and four hours. Many people have tried to make the potion permanent, but-"

Severus had heard enough. He wrapped his arms around her waist and covered her mouth with his own, if only to get her to stop talking! Her lips were soft and slightly more wet than he was expecting, but before he was able to explore that impertinent mouth more in depth, he felt a splatter hit his cheek. He pulled reluctantly away and lifted his head to reprimand Dumbledore for inviting the Gobstones to the wedding—

And found himself to be belly down on his bed, head lifted a few inches from his pillow, which had a small puddle of drool slowly soaking into the fabric. He blinked and used his hands to lift himself to his knees, staring at his headboard in confusion. Shaking his head, he wiped the spittle from his cheek and the corner of his mouth and headed for the bathroom. A shower would clear the fogginess of his mind.

As the hot water warmed and woke him, he thought about his dream, and how real it had felt. Well, up until Miss Granger popped out of the closet. No matter. He was still going to the Headmaster's office this morning.

….

"Come in, Severus, my boy!" The Headmaster's voice rang from behind the cracked door. Severus pushed it open to see the old man beaming at him.

"Albus, I—no!" Severus walked over to a closet to the right of the Headmaster's desk and opened it wide, relieved to see nothing more than inanimate objects. He checked the other two closets in Albus' office, just to be sure.

"Severus, are you quite alright?" The Headmaster was bemused, but his eyes still twinkled.

"A dream, Albus, just a dream," Severus sighed, not knowing whether it was in relief or exhaustion. Quite possibly it was a combination of both.

"You'll have to tell me about it sometime," The Headmaster suggested with an interested smile.

"Not in this lifetime," Severus muttered. He ignored the old man's query after what he just said. "I have a … situation, Albus."

….

Severus tromped out of the office in a foul mood. The Headmaster was no help. No help at all.

After reaching the great hall and throwing himself into his chair at the head table he munched on his bacon and eggs with a vengeance, ignoring Minerva's raised eyebrow.

A/N: This is what happens when you are inspired at three in the morning. Instead of having weird dreams, you write down one for your character of choice to suffer through. Anyways, I know I said I'd put a bit more of Hogwarts in this one, but things didn't flow in that direction. I felt I needed to work on Severus' side of the story a bit more. Next chapter I promise to put some match-making scheme by that cheeky old castle, even if the characters won't notice it for what it is! I hope you like where this is going so far, and make sure to review, so I can know for sure! By the way, am I the only one who thinks only Dumbledore could ever get away with calling Snape an odd duck? Lol. Just food for thought. Anyways, enjoy!


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